"...the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause…" Steven walked down the boardwalk, singing a tune that he couldn't quite remember where he had heard before.
It was a peaceful day in Beach City. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, only a few clouds drifting above. It was so calm, Steven could even hear the distant call of a of flock of wingulls that were circling just off of the beach. But despite the calmness, Steven was on a mission. A mission that would serve as his first step into a far larger world.
"I will travel, across the land, searching far and wide…"
He continued down the boardwalk, eventually coming to the fry stand. The youngest Fryman was behind the counter.
"Hey, Peedee!" Steven greeted as he approached the stand.
"Hey, Steven," Peedee returned. "It's still too early for the bits, though."
"I'm not here for bits today, Peedee," Steven replied. "I'm here for advice."
"Advice? What advice-" Peedee stopped short, turning around as he did. "Magby, ease off the heat. Those fries smell done."
The flame that shot from the scarlet pokemon's mouth shrunk as he let out a soft call. He took the fries out of the fryer and dumped them into a large basket.
"Sorry about that," Peedee said, turning back towards Steven. "Dad's letting Magby completely handle the fryer now. But… he's still learning."
"Magby can learn how to fry fries?" Steven asked, his eyes wide in wonder.
Peedee shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. Pokemon can learn how to do a lot of things. All depends on the 'mon, ya know?"
"Cool…" Steven cooed. "You really do know a lot about pokemon."
"I don't know about that," Peedee said, rubbing the back of his head. "I just… read a lot."
Steven shook his head. "It doesn't matter how you learned it. Being smart is being smart."
"Okay, geez Steven," Peedee said, his face flushing with color. "I thought you were looking for advice, not a favor."
"I am looking for advice." Steven slid his cheeseburger backpack off of his shoulders and placed it on the counter. "The Gems gave me something today," he said as he rustled through the backpack's contents. "First is this…" He pulled out a small, rectangular device.
"Oh, man," Peedee said, recognizing the it right away. "Is that a pokedex?"
Steven nodded proudly. "Dad gave it to me. Said it was 'a refurbished, classic edition'."
"Neat," Peedee said. "I've always wanted a pokedex, but well…" He glanced over his shoulder. "What I could really use is a magby-dex."
Magby let out a cry of protest, as a new jet of fire sprung from his mouth and began cooking a new batch of fries.
Peedee chuckled. "Yeah, but really that's cool, Steven."
"Yep. And that's not all." Steven reached back into his backpack and brought his second gift for the day.
"A… pokeball?" Peedee asked, looking at the red and white orb in Steven's hand.
"Not just any pokeball," Steven corrected. "This is a pokeball that Peridot altered. It can capture any pokemon, without fail." He placed the ball onto the counter. "I call it the Star Ball." Steven took his hand off it, revealing the yellow star that was painted on top of the ball.
"Wow, really?" Peedee asked, staring at the pokeball. "Uh, may I?"
"Oh, sure, Peedee."
Peedee picked up the ball and began to turn it over in his hands. "This is incredible, Steven. Companies are always trying to make pokeballs that never fail… So of course one of the Gems are able to do it like it's nothing." He handed the ball back to Steven, who took it and placed it back into his backpack. "So what pokemon are you going to catch?"
"I'm… not sure. That's the advice I need," Steven said. "What kind of pokemon live around Beach City?"
"Hmm… Well, there are plenty of 'mon in the sea…" Peedee answered. "But for your first pokemon, you probably want something land based… Let's see… If you head outside of town and start rustling through some tall grass, you'd probably find some rattata… Some taillow too, if you're quick enough…"
"What would you suggest I catch?"
"I can't really say," Peedee answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Which pokemon fits with which trainer is really only something the trainer can decide."
"Sooo… I just need to go out and see which pokemon captures my heart?"
"Basically, yeah."
Steven sighed. "Alright. I guess I just need to head out and see what happens."
"Yeah, just be careful, Steven. Walking around tall grass without a pokemon can be dangerous."
"I know Peedee, but I do still have my gem powers to protect me," Steven said, summoning his round shield as a demonstration.
"Your shield is strong, but… well I kinda wonder how well it would do to getting slammed by a hyper beam."
"Hyper Beam? Are… are there pokemon around town that can do that?"
"No, probably not," Peedee grinned. "But you should still be careful. Pokemon can still sneak up on you when you least expect it."
"Right," Steven nodded. "Thanks for the advice, Peedee."
"Ah, no problem. Just wish I had better advice."
"It's all right. You gave me the best advice of all," Steven said as he began to walk away from the stand. "That I'll know once I find the perfect pokemon."
"Yeah. I guess so," Peedee said with a lopsided grin. "Good luck, Steven. When you catch your 'mon, be sure to come by and let me see." He waved as Steven walked away.
"I will. See ya later, Peedee," Steven said as he waved back at the fry stand. He turned back around, a determined look on his face. He felt his pace quicken, just a little, as he headed for Main St.
"Here poke-poke-pokemon… Come on out. I'm a defenseless trainer without any repels…"
Steven pushed his way through the tall grass, making a conscious effort to rustle as much of the grass as possible. But despite his efforts, there seemed to be no pokemon about.
"Man… I thought wild pokemon were suppose to be like, everywhere outside of towns…"
He furrowed his brow in frustration. After talking to Peedee, his biggest worry had been that there'd be too many pokemon for him to decide on just one. But now Steven felt like he would take whichever one he saw first.
"Maybe I should try somewhere else…" Steven sighed.
As soon as he said that, Steven heard something moving behind him. He quickly turned on his heel, but saw nothing but grass. He hesitated, before beginning to slowly move forward. He pushed the grass aside carefully now, not wanting to startle whoever was nearby.
"Come on… Come on…" Steven muttered.
Something darted out of the corner of his eye and Steven hastily turned back around. He scanned the area and saw a dark shape duck behind an old oak tree that stood alone in a clearing around the grass. Steven crept over to the tree, trying to make as little noise as possible. He peeked around the trunk of the tree… and saw a small, white-headed creature looking back at him.
"Whoa…" Steven gasped. "A pokemon… With a strangely white head… I wonder what kind of pokemon you are…" Still moving slowly so as not to startle them, Steven reached into his backpack and removed his pokedex, as well as the Star Ball. "Let's see here…" he said, flipping the pokedex and pointing it at the pokemon.
"Pokedex Entry Number one-oh-four" the pokedex's stiff, electronic voice began to recite. "Cubone. The Lonely Pokemon."
"Huh… That seems like kind of a sad type…" Steven said.
He looked up from the pokedex and saw the cubone still standing where they had been, their eyes still locked onto Steven. "Are you lonely, friend?" he asked smiling easily. "Would you like to be my friend?"
"Cuuee…" the cubone let out a gentle cry
"Here… I'm going to capture you, then I can introduce you to all my friends." He raised the Star Ball above his head and prepared to throw just like Dad had shown him. However, he stopped mid-throw when he saw the cubone had covered their face, anticipating the ball.
"Cuuue…" the cubone whimpered.
"Oh, man…" Steven said as he lowered his arm. "You don't want to go in the pokeball, huh? Hmm…" Steven stowed the Star Ball back into his pack and withdrew his pokedex again. "Let's see if there's any advice here…"
"Due to its harsh natural environmental pressures, most cubone are orphans. Mother's are usually lost early in the young cubone's life and many cubone in response will take to wearing a skull to symbolize its loss to others in its social group."
"So that's why you head is white. You're wearing… a… skull…" Steven trailed off as he looked back at the cubone, who was still looking at him fearfully. "You… lost your mom…"
"Cuuee…"
Steve drifted to his stomach. He could feel the gem underneath his shirt. Without moving his hand, Steven sat on the ground. "I… I lost my mom too…"
"Cuee?" the cubone seemed to peek with interest.
"She's… I'm not sure really. But… I know she's not around now because she gave birth to me…" Steven could begin to feel the corners of his eyes sting with tears.
The cubone began to slowly walk over to him.
"But… It's okay. I still have a family. And friends. They can make everything feel better," Steven said gently before his expression dropped again. "You don't have any friends, do you?"
"C-cuee…" the cubone stuttered as they lowered their gaze.
"Do you want to be my friend?"
"Cue…" the cubone's eyes shot over to Steven's backpack.
"No pokeball," Steven assured, shaking his head. "Just you and me and all our friends."
The cubone paused for a moment before placing it's small, delicate hand on Steven's leg. "Cue…"
"I'll take that as a yes," Steven smiled. "My name is Steven."
"Cue," Cubone nodded.
"But what should we call you…? Boney? No… Cubey?" Steven shook his head. "I guess we'll figure that out later." He held out his arms.
"Cuee?"
"Oh, well… You've kinda got little, tiny legs so… I thought I'd carry you," Steven explained. "If you want, of course."
"Cue!" With none of it's previous hesitation, Cubone quickly climbed into Steven's arms and nuzzling their head in the crook of Steven's arm.
"Well alright, then," Steven said as he rose to his feet. "I guess you've never had fry bits before, have you?"
"Cuuee?"
"They're some of the best food ever. And they're made by my friend Peedee and Magby."
"Cue?"
"Yep. We're gonna stop there first," Steven explained as he got back on the path leading into town. "He wants to meet you. And then after, we can get some bits. Then I can introduce you to the Gems… Ooh! And Connie! She'll want to meet you. And Sadie and Lars and Kiki and Jenny and Buck and…"
Steven continued listing names, going over just about everyone in Beach City. But all Cubone did was huddle a little, content that they, much like Steven, had just made a new friend.